Still Mr 12 and Miss All-Sunday
by Sketcher1994
Summary: Zoro stumbled forward, silently cursing the Witch. He'd had to fight Daz Bones for her and lost more blood than ever before. He paused, staring at the hole in the ground. In the centre of some ruins, the ground had collapsed. Was Robin under there? With how much blood he'd lost, this would take him days. Why was he so sure she was here? Ancient buildings. She definitely was here.


**AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!**

 **So, here's the 'final' side chapter to 'The Cover of Baroque Works'. When I say that, I mean timeline-wise. There will be more little side chapters! ;P This takes place halfway through the final chapter of the main story :) Please enjoy!**

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Zoro stumbled forward, silently cursing the Witch and her friends. He'd had to fight Daz Bones for the damn Witch and lost more blood than he ever had before. He could feel the tattered skin hanging loose when he touched his chest. He wasn't quite sure his sewing skills would be good enough for this one. Maybe Robin could sew him up? If he ever found her. It was going to take hours and those brats had cost him hours. A small smile crept onto his lips; they'd saved the entire city from being blown up though.

He paused, staring at the hole in the ground. In the centre of what looked like some interesting ruins, the ground seemed to have collapsed...for miles. It wouldn't be miles, he was sure of that, but if Robin was under there...? With how much blood he'd lost, this was going to take him days. Why the hell was he even so sure she was here? Ancient looking buildings. Of course she was here.

He sighed and continued forward, making for what looked like steps down. Why had he been so sure she was in this direction? He blinked; a pile of white lay on the grass against a giant, fallen, stone pillar fifty metres in front of him. Zoro closed his eyes, the image of Robin descending the stairs at Rainbase flickering into his mind. He had no idea whether to hope that that was her on not. That didn't stop him knowing it was. He opened his eyes, picking up his pace as he realised she truly wasn't moving. He began to jog, ignoring the pain in his chest. If Robin hadn't done the one thing that he'd told her repeatedly to do, there'd be a worse pain there.

"Robin..." He uttered, dropping to his knees next to the pile of white, crimson, and pale skin.

From the streak of blood on the pillar, she'd been sitting up against it before she'd collapsed. Crocodile must have figured out Robin's plan before that damn Luffy boy had gotten there. This just wasn't fair. She couldn't die here! He covered his mouth as a spasm of coughing took over him. He tried to catch his breath as it finished, only for it to escape him again in the form of a sigh when Robin shifted slightly. He laid his hand down onto her shoulder, shaking her lightly.

"Zo-Zo...Zo-Zor-Zoro..." She struggled out quietly, a soft, almost apologetic, smile gracing her lips as she looked up at him.

"I'm here, Robin. I'm not going anywhere." He soothed, stroking her cheek with his other hand as the first tear escaped. "Damn woman, I thought I'd lost you there. What was the one thing I told you to do? It's not as if I've ever asked you to do anything else..."

"I know, Zoro." She mumbled as she began trying to sit up, clutching her stomach as her face contorted with agony.

"Shhh, shhh, don't move." Zoro cooed, steadying her as he moved to remove her white coat.

He ignored his bloody handprint and hoped that Robin hadn't noticed. He was still in pretty bad shape, but there was no way he was going to risk losing Robin over a bloody handprint. He tensed as the hole came into view. The gaping, crimson hole from Crocodile's hook. They'd both known there was a chance Crocodile would stab her with it, but Zoro had hoped he'd never have to patch it up. Was there anyone who could help him? Was that Strawhat doctor any good? Maybe he could just run back and- No, he wasn't leaving Robin to bleed to death alone.

"I had planned to just die down there with those rocks on top of me, but that Luffy wouldn't let me. This is certainly a slower death. He was trying to save my life, but I am not sure how this qualifies. I shall have to punish him when we catch up with them." Robin sighed, her smile back as Zoro held her close, allowing her to put all her weight onto him.

"You're feeling better already." Zoro smirked, kissing her forehead gently as she had done so many times before to him.

"Perhaps the bleeding has stopped? You are also much more comfortable to die against than the hard ground." Robin concluded as she leaned into him.

"Say one more thing about you dying and I'll make you wish you were dead." Zoro deadpanned, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Fufufu, Zoro-kun, is that a threat?" Robin mused, glancing over her shoulder at him. Her eyes shot wide. "Zoro-kun, what happened?! Are we going to die here together in each other's arms?"

"What did I just say about you and dying?!" He snapped, cringing as she winced with his sudden movements. "I had to fight Daz Bones for your little orange haired navigator. It's just a few scratches, I'll live. I can cut steel now though."

"Congratulations, Zoro-kun!" Robin beamed, startling him.

He stared, completely dumbstruck, into her gleaming baby blue eyes. The expression across her entire face had been worth Hell for. He moved his hand up to cup her cheek, a confused expression flickering through her eyes. So much emotion. He tilted her head more to face towards him and carefully leant forward, unsure of how she'd react. She glanced down at his lips before looking back into his eyes, searching them for something. He could only assume she found it as a soft smile found its way across her lips as his neared them. He gently pressed a kiss onto her lips, closing his eyes as he silently hoped she'd kiss him back. He smirked and kissed her more passionately as she did just what he wanted her to.

"I owe that damn Captain now, Woman." Zoro grumbled as he pulled back slightly. "I told you _not_ to die and you _tried_ to die on me. I've been babysitting that damn crew for you and you tried to _bail_ on me. How am I supposed to take that, Robin?"

"I did not think you would truly be upset to lose me." She stated, making annoyance take over Zoro as he realised just how little she thought he cared about her.

"If I didn't give a shit about you, why would I offer to help you achieve your dream? Why would I agree to help you betray Crocodile? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Woman!" He growled, glaring angrily at her.

She kissed him.

He melted into her kiss, feeling her tears gathering where his hand still cupped her cheek. He could feel the smile in her kiss. He could see what he could only hope to be love shining back at him in those beautiful blue eyes that had haunted him as he'd been dying only an hour earlier. He could smell the blood. He sighed heavily into her kiss as he stopped kissing her back. This was not the time for passionate kisses and admissions. They would likely both bleed to death if they didn't start doing something about these wounds. It wasn't as if they'd be able to help each other if they got too weak to do anything. He was starting to sound like her. He sighed again.

"Right, what's the plan? I need to get you somewhere so I can clean you up and get sewing that damn hole closed." Zoro exclaimed boldly, trying to keep himself stern and moody while he was actually a little dizzy and worried.

"The Strawhat ship, like we planned. We escape with them and leave when the time comes." Robin nodded, starting to move again.

"That's days away. If we're going there, we're stopping somewhere on the way to get you help." He replied, keeping his voice steady. "And I'm carrying you there." He added, shifting his position so that he could lift her.

"Fine, but, Zoro," Robin began, something in her voice making him flinch, "when the crew arrives at their ship, we will have to act like we are just ordinary partners. They will be more reluctant to allow us to journey with them if they know about us." She finished, catching his lips briefly as he lifted her.

"One step forward, two steps back." Zoro grumbled, glaring off into the distance.

"That saying is certainly true in your case, Zoro-kun." Robin giggled in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck.

"I meant our relationship, Damn Woman!" He exclaimed, feeling his entire face light on fire. "We've finally got to a point where we can be together and what happens? We decide to join a crew where we have to pretend to be completely indifferent! At least when we were pretending to work for Crocodile, we had our time alone! We're never gonna get five minutes without those morons!"

"Those 'morons' saved our lives, Zoro-kun." Robin lectured, the smile still not leaving her eyes.

"I fought Daz Bones – almost dying _twice_ – and threw myself off of a _building_ to help them." Zoro returned, glaring down at her as he waited for some teasing remark. "Hell, I even carried the witch!"

"Should I be jealous, Zoro-kun?" Robin replied, an obvious smile across all her beautiful features. "Perhaps we should not go to their ship? It was hard enough for you to kiss me without throwing in a rival for your affection."

"I ain't gonna fall for the damn Witch!" He snapped back, marching forward to try to get to the ship faster. "Now where the Hell is that ship!?"

"Shall I direct you, Zoro-kun?" She smiled coyly, beautiful even with his bloody handprint on her cheek. He hoped he could get it off before she realised it was there.

"Sure." He smirked, realising that nothing had really changed.

They were still Zoro and Robin, Mr 12 and Miss All-Sunday.

They'd still be fighting side-by-side, together until the end.

They'd still risk their lives for each other.

Only, now, they were more than just ordinary partners.

They just had to fool a couple of kids into thinking that that was all they were.

Life was never easy, but this was going to be a nice little holiday from bounty hunting.

At least until they decide it's time to leave.

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 **Hope you enjoyed this! XD**

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 **(Don't read beyond this if you haven't finished The Cover of Baroque Works)**

For this story overall, there'll still be more side chapters and I figured I'd do a couple of little Zoro-and-Strawhat-member interaction shorts. I may do a sequel involving Water 7 and Enies Lobby! The only differences until that point is that Zoro would be suspicious of Robin planning to betray him by leaving him alone with the crew, rather than her betraying the crew. He knows about her years on the run from the Marines and knows that she has a habit of betraying people. He has to watch as Sanji flirts with her while constantly wondering if Robin saying that they sound seem almost indifferent as a sign that she plans to betray him. He is trapped wondering if the woman he grew to love is about to break his heart.


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